Online dating apps’ popularity is gradually increasing since their launch in 1990. Due to Covid-19, their popularity skyrocketed and a lot of people started using them to find their partners.
A lot of people successfully find love through these apps, but a lot of people fall into scams and face a lot of issues in their lives.
These apps are beneficial for your love life but can be harmful too because of the potential cyber risks.
So, it is necessary to keep yourself safe while using online dating apps. In this article, we will see how you can do this.
● Don’t share your personal information
You must never share your personal information such as your contact number or house number on these apps.
You should avoid adding your last name, your school, your contact information, and your place of work on these apps.
Moreover, avoid linking your social media handles there.
● Use professional and unique pictures
You should use a unique picture of yourself in online dating apps which you don’t have used on your social media handles.
If your picture on dating apps will be similar to your picture on your social media handles, anyone can search for you on Google without any difficulty.
Moreover, you shouldn’t use a picture that gives a clue about your office or home.
● Keep your chat on dating apps
You should never take your chat out of the dating apps. Never share your contact information with random people on the app as it can be harmful.
Chat with the person on dating apps, and if you feel that the other person is harassing you in any way, report that profile in the instant.
● Beware of fake profiles
You should thoroughly check a profile to decide whether it is fake or real.
If there is no necessary information on the profile, you should avoid messaging it.
Always trust your instincts and if you feel something fishy or fake about any profile or person, avoid it.
● Look for the warning signs
During a chat on dating apps, you should be open-minded and beware of warning signs.
These warning signs can be:
- The person asking you for financial assistance.
- Demanding your pictures.
- Sending you offensive messages.
- Threatening you in any way.
- Saying overly romantic things early in the chat.
- They are telling you their melodrama stories.
- They want you to move from dating apps as soon as possible.
- They are minor.
- Asking for your personal information for different reasons.
- Trying to sell you anything.
If you find any of these warning signs, leave the chat with the person in the instant and report the profile.
● Use a legit dating app
There are almost 2500 online dating apps in the US so there is a high chance that all of them are not legit. So, you should carefully decide where to create your profile.
You can select larger and more reputable sites such as Tinder, Match.com, etc to make your profile.
You can take feedback on different apps from your friends and family too. If you receive positive feedback about an app, you can use it.
● Limit your use of location settings
It is best to keep your location setting off while using a dating app.
Through location settings, strangers can pinpoint your office and home location without any difficulty. So, avoid using it.
● Ask for a video call
If a chat with a person goes in a great way and you think that person can be your perfect match, you should ask them to schedule a video call.
Through video calls, you can ensure that the person is really what they claim to be. But, if the person strongly resists video calls, avoid them. That person can be fake.
● Meet in a public place
If the person from the dating app wants to schedule a date with you, it is best to have some precautionary measures for this meetup.
You should choose a public place for the date so that you can feel safe. Use your personal or public transport to reach the place.
Keep your mobile near you so that you can contact anyone in case of any issues.
Don’t blindly trust the person and remain alert all the time.
Conclusion
Online dating apps can help you in finding your soulmate, but it can also become a nightmare for you if you will not take safety measures while using these apps.
We hope this article has helped you safely use different dating apps.
